The 62nd Hunger Games
by burwellbrown
Summary: The story of Lyra Flay's Journey through The 62nd Annual Hunger Games. Will she make it through? Or will she fall...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just an FYI: this is the same 62nd Hunger Games and the tributes already submitted will still be in it. If you want to submit a tribute, the form is on my profile. I will post the next chapter when I have all the tributes, or almost all the tributes.

1 week before the reapings:

"Everything is in perfect order. The 62nd Hunger Games are ready to go, sir"

"Thank you, Jeremiah," President Snow said courteously "May I just see the arena again?" The Head Game-Maker Jeremiah Crane, issued anxious orders to the rest of the game-makers in the room – not many at this top-secret midnight meeting. The arena came up on the screen. It looked like one of the Capitols many parks, surrounded by houses, but on a much bigger scale. "And you say it is more dangerous than it looks?" Enquired the President.

"Well, yes. For a start, almost all of the houses are booby trapped. The tributes will only find water in two of the houses, meaning they will be unable to avoid a fight. Also, the arena is relatively small, so the tributes won't have room to hide. You may notice that there is a band of trees behind the houses, which gives the stealthier tributes somewhere to conceal themselves."

"I think I've heard enough for now. I look forward to the reapings!" Exclaimed Snow.

"As do I" said Jeremiah Crane.


	2. The Reaping

**A/N: I didn't really want to have to do reapings, goodbyes, training etc etc for all of the tributes, so I decided to focus the story on one tribute in particular. I put all the tributes into a random name selector and the one it selected was…. Lyra Flay, D5 girl (submitted by Disenchanted lotf)! No hating if your tribute wasn't picked, and just because I'm writing the story from Lyra's POV doesn't mean she'll win. If she dies, the 'baton', as it were, will be passed to another tribute, again randomly selected. So, without further ado, let the 62nd Hunger Games Commence! (I do not own any part of the Hunger Games universe, but I wish I did!)**

**The Reaping**

"Lyra, darling?" my mother whispered gently "It's nearly half-past ten." This woke me up. The reaping started at eleven, and I was still in bed! "Mum! Why didn't you wake me!?" I groaned.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you're so tired at the moment, and you looked so peaceful, and what with it being today and all, I thought I'd let you sleep" She said, somewhat guiltily. I climbed out of bed, pulled on a sweater, and followed her downstairs to breakfast, where I devoured some toast and a cup of tea. Then, noticing the clock, I ran up stairs and changed into my reaping outfit. The anxiety started to set in, so I comforted myself by thinking of all the kids eligible to be reaped, and that, due to my parents being reasonably well-off, I hadn't taken out any tesserae. Basically, I thought to myself, it was incredibly unlikely that I'd get picked.

Just before eleven, my parents and I left for the square. When we arrived, I gave them both brief hugs, and my dad assured me that I wouldn't be picked. I made my way to the peacekeepers to sign, and they pricked my finger to take some blood. I absent-mindedly sucked the injured while I walked towards a group of fourteen year olds, looking for my friends in the process. Soon enough, I spotted Talli's red hair. I headed towards her, and when she saw me, she waved. I had just reached them when the District escort, Glissa Shine, appeared on the stage and tapped the microphone.

"Welcome everyone, to the reaping for the 62nd Annual Hunger Games!" she shrieked in her silly Capitol accent. "First, we have a video that has come to us all the way from the Capitol!" Then she played the same propaganda video that is always played. After it finished, she turned towards the bowls that were filled with paper slips. "First, the ladies!" And with that war cry, plunged her hand into the bowl. She swirled her hand round the bowl dramatically, before plucking a single slip of paper out from the thousands. I waited expectantly, almost already feeling sorry for the poor kid that would get picked, and sent off for slaughter. Then someone shouted my name. It took me a few seconds to realise it was coming from the stage. I was too shocked to move. Then Talli shoved me forward. Maybe it was meant to be a consolatory pat on the back, but now I'll never now. My legs finally got into gear, and I started walking to the stage. Presently four peacekeepers started walking behind me, making sure I had no way of escape. But I never even considered escaping. I was already working out strategies for the arena as I climbed the stage steps. I shook Glissa's hand and stood next her as she moved towards the bowl full of boys names.

"And now, for the boys!" She went through the same rigmarole as she had for me. The guy who was reaped was called Barry Duncan, but everyone called him Junior. He's only 13. I recognised him from school, but I had never talked to him, because he's in the year below me. I don't think he has many friends and on the few occasions I've seen him round school he was pestering someone. He strutted up to the stage like he owned the district, and shooked Glissa's hand, as I had done. Suddenly I saw my parents tear streaked faces in the crowd. This upset me more than anything else, and I bowed my head as I was escorted into the Justice building.

**Thanks for reading and please, please, please review!**


	3. The Goodbyes and the Train Ride

**A/N: Thanks to those who've reviewed! Sorry if you really wanted to see your tribute's POV. If you still really, really, really, really want to see their POV, PM me, and I might do some one-shots or drabbles, depending how much free time I have. This chapter is sort of a two-in-one.**

**Disclaimer: No matter how much I want to, I don't own the Hunger Games**

**The Goodbyes**

As soon as I was alone in the room I let out a sob, but quickly composed myself – I didn't want to upset my parents anymore, and besides that, I didn't want to look I'd been crying in front of the cameras. After a few minutes of waiting my parents burst in and both flung their arms around me in a tight embrace. We stood like that for about a minute, just savouring each others' company – after all, it would most likely be the last time I ever saw them. I tried to stay cheerful, and we just chattered about little things. When the peacekeeper knocked on the door, however, my mother broke down completely and clung on to me like I was a tree in a flood. Even my father had tears in his eyes. One last squeeze of my hand and they were gone, shepherded out by the peacekeepers.

Soon after that, my only friends, Talli, Coprin, and Firo came in. I could see they'd been crying too. They each gave me a small hug, then sat down on the sofa. Talli cleared her throat. "Lyra, this is for you." She held out her hand. In it was a small compass, that I remembered as the basis for most of our games when we were kids. It may not have fetched much money at a market, but to us it was priceless. "I-I don't know what to say", I eventually stuttered. "Right then," Talli said, her voice sounding choked. "You need to play to your strengths – your smarts, your skills with wire and stuff like that. If you find a water source, stay near it and set up a trap to kill anyone that comes near. Got it?" I tried to take it all in, but it was too much. "Guys, chances are I won't come back!" I almost yelled, my voice starting to break. "There's gonna be 24 of us. Already that's only a 1/24 chance I'll survive! Factor in the careers, mutts, lack of food and water, and I'm dead. Just face it, I won't come back!" I was crying now, and I tried desperately to stop, but I just couldn't. They were crying as well, until suddenly Firo, who is normally so quiet, started shouting. "Lyra Flay, just you listen to us! Of course if you go in with an attitude like that you'll die! And did you stop to think how we feel about this? You're like a sister to me, Lyra! So please just listen to us, we're trying to help!" and after that he sank back down on to the sofa, tears pouring down his face. His sudden outpour shocked me into silence, and Coprin carried on where Talli left off. "Don't try to start a fight, because you won't win, especially against a career. You're a great runner, so flee. Make sure you have a way to get out from your hideout, you never know when the careers will turn up." Now he was crying too. Then the peacekeepers arrived, so after I gave each of them a last hug, I was alone with my thoughts.

I don't know how much time passed before the peacekeepers came to take me to the station.

**The Train Ride **

As I walked through to train, I tried to keep a straight face to the cameras. People thinking I was weak was the last thing I wanted, but I couldn't hide the redness of my eyes. Luckily, it was over quickly, and then I was in the relative privacy of the train. I went through the first door I saw, and found myself in a lavish sitting room. Glissa Shine, and the mentors, Aliana Sparksmith (my mentor), and Jonas Linman (Barry's mentor) were already in there. I was just about sit down in one of the many armchairs dotted about the place, when Barry sauntered in. "So, you guys ready to watch me win this thing?" he boasted. His mentor responded quickly. "So what're gonna do at the start of the games?" He sounded fed up with Barry already! "Well, I'll grab a sword from the cornucopia, then go slay the careers. I'll use their supplies, and hunt the rest of the tributes. Easy!" Jonas laughed a dry, brittle chuckle. "You do that, and you'll be the first to die. I've seen boys like you before." Barry looked a little taken aback by this, but only hesitated a few seconds. "Yeah, well, I beat all the boys at school at sports." And with that parting lie, he left, presumably to find his room, grabbing an immaculately iced cupcake as he went. "What a rude little boy!" Exclaimed Glissa. "Between us guys, I don't think he'll make it through the bloodbath" added Jonas. "I'm glad I don't have to mentor him!" said Aliana finally, giving me a wink. "So, Lyra, have you got a strategy yet?" she asked me. "I'm going to avoid the bloodbath, apart from if there's a weapon or something I'd find really useful near to me, because I'm a good runner. Then I'll find a water source, and stay near it. I'm gonna set up a trap, so that anyone who comes near me and my water source is killed." I finished finally, silently thanking my friends. "That sounds good" said Aliana encouragingly. "I guess" I replied "When's dinner?" I asked, after hearing my stomach rumble. "Whenever you want it! It's one of the many great things about the Capitol. You can do what you want, when you want!" Although I'd only had breakfast a few hours ago, I was really hungry. I started to eagerly fill up my plate with delicacies only available in the Capitol. I'd always been fairly well fed, but we only ever ate bland, quite tasteless food. I never tasted anything like any of the food from the Capitol.

After I'd eaten, I went to my room to have a nap. I fell asleep surprisingly quickly considering the harrowing events of the day. I was woken up by a knock on the door. It was Glissa, telling me they were about to watch the recap of the reapings. I left my room and followed her to a TV room, where I was given a glass of something sweet by a Capitol attendant. None of them really stood out. None of them looked as intelligent as me. Maybe this would be easier than I thought.

We arrived in the Capitol at about 10pm. The train station was filled to the brim with people that didn't look entirely real, screaming and cheering. Who knows whether they were screaming because they wanted me to win or because they were looking forward to see me die?

**A/N: Just realised this isn't going to be canon because Enobaria won the 62nd Hunger Games. Please review!**


	4. The First Night and the Tribute Parade

**A/N: Can't believe I forgot to describe most of the people in this story (What can I say, I was so caught up in the actual story)! Thanks to the reviewers that pointed out my description needed some work, and also thanks to any other reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: I still haven't managed to buy the rights for the Hunger Games universe from Suzanne Collins, so all it all belongs to her. One day….**

* * *

**The First Night**

The Training Centre was beautiful. Even though it would be our prison until the games, it was hard not to gasp when you saw the magnificent glass building, with the light from a full moon glinting off it. We had no time to just stand and admire it though, as we were whisked inside, and up to our floor. It was tastefully decorated – unusual for the Capitol – in muted colours. We had a lovely dinner of beef stew with dumplings, then we were given hot milk and honey by the Avoxes, who both had pale skin and light blonde hair. "How delightful!" Crooned Glissa, who had somehow managed to get changed since we got off the train. "A matching pair!" She was now wearing a silver wig, and a figure-hugging metallic dress, that looked like it was made of tinfoil. "Glissa, how did you manage to get changed again!?" Jonas said exasperatedly, his shaggy brown hair falling over his eyes as he shook his head. Glissa simply gave him a withering look. Aliana chuckled. "Look, Lyra and Barry, you'd better get to bed – you've got a busy day tomorrow." I looked to Barry to see his reaction, and to my surprise, he was staring at the wall, with tears in his eyes. As soon as he realised I was looking at him though, he sprung back into his usual arrogant persona, shaking his head, his ginger hair all over the place, and said "PHAAA! I don't need sleep!" he burst out, laughing quietly, at the preposterous thought that people needed sleep. Unlike him though, I was, despite my nap on the train, so I crept off, leaving them to deal with Barry's idiotic claims.

In my room, there was a whole wall made up of mirrors, which, when touched, opened to reveal a seemingly endless supply of clothes. I rifled through them for a few minutes, until I found some decent pyjamas. I then peeled back the covers and snuggled into the deliciously soft and warm bed. I fell asleep almost instantly, much to my surprise.

The next morning Aliana woke me up. Her long, thick, chestnut hair was in a single plait down her back. "Hey Lyra" she said softly, "You'd better start getting up, you've got to be in the Remake Centre in an hour." This shocked me – the tribute parade wasn't until quite late tonight. "But surely it doesn't take all day to get ready for the parade?" I asked, groaning inwardly. "'Fraid so." Replied Aliana. She left the room, and I made my way to the shower, pressing the first button I came to. Luckily, it wasn't freezing cold or boiling hot, but the shampoo reeked of roses. I dried myself and dressed in a simple t-shirt and slacks, figuring I'd be wearing a paper gown for the best part of the day. I went into the dining room looking forward to breakfast, and I wasn't disappointed. There was some lovely lamb stew and rice, and a delicious warm beverage that Glissa called hot chocolate. Barry looked exhausted, despite his allegations that he never needed to sleep. After I had tried and succeeded to fill myself to the brim with food, we left for the remake centre.

**The Remake Centre**

There I met my prep team, who wore an extreme caricature of the Capitol style. Aurelius, the leader, was dressed in an electric blue maxi dress that matched his wig, and Teena and Leena, who were twins, both wore matching lime green ballet tutus, that, like Aurelius' outfit, matched their hair. They had also died their skin lime green, so unsurprisingly, they both looked like limes. Together they waxed and painted, and primped and preened me until my skin was raw, and I stank of some noxious chemical they'd made me bath in. I had absolutely no concept of time while I was in there, but I don't think it took much less than 5 hours. When they thought I was suitably pretty to meet my stylist, they ushered me into a sparsely furnished room, where I sat on a cold metal chair. After about 5 minutes, the stylist, Flavia, came in. She was wearing a scarlet wig, and a clingy gold dress. Thankfully, she didn't have any crazy face alterations, and her skin was perfectly normal, if a bit pale. She wasn't as bad as I thought she'd be, and after measuring me, brought in my parade dress, in a black bag. She blindfolded me, obviously wanting it to be surprise for the parade, but I realised that unless there were mirrors in the stable, I wouldn't be able to see what I looked like properly. After a few minutes of asking if I could take off the blindfold, she gave in, but only on the condition, she said, that she did my parade make up and hair as well, so I could get the whole effect. I agreed with this, because it didn't seem like much else to ask for. So she did my make up and hair fairly quickly, then took off my blindfold. She had left my brown hair in it's trademark ponytail thankfully, and the few strokes of multicoloured eye makeup perfectly complimented my plain, grey eye. The dress was a green maxi dress, with different coloured threads running through it, making it look like a circuit board. Oh well, at least I wasn't naked. On my feet were grey lace-up combat boots. These I liked, and I hoped we wore something like these in the arena.

After I put my paper robe back on, I was taken to slightly nicer room, with a plush sofa and wooden table. In here I was given a lunch of some kind of soup, with crusty bread rolls. After I'd finished, an Avox came in and took me back to my prep team. Evidently they weren't finished with me yet. After a few more hours, they were finally finished, and I was taken to Flavia again, this time to get changed for real. This time, she threaded coloured threads that matched the ones in the dress through my hair, finishing the outfit perfectly. An Avox escorted me to the ground floor of the Remake Centre, the stables.

**The Tribute Parade**

Barry was already down there, in a tunic that matched my dress. He looked nervous, and was scratching at his collar. He had heavy bags under his eyes, and looked close to tears, but as soon as I arrived, back up went the arrogant façade. I asked him how his prep team and stylist were, but he just said "Cool", so I gave up. I cast my gaze around the stables, and my eye fell on a small girl, who couldn't have been more than 13. She had wavy red hair and light blue eyes. I knew she was from 7, because she was wearing a dress that looked like it was made of leaves. Poor kid. She didn't look like she'd be much of a rival. I carried on looking round the room. There was another girl, from 3, if her silver dress was anything to go by. She had a tough look in her eye, and looked quite smart. I made a mental note to have her as an ally if I changed my strategy. Then I came to a boy with massive muscles and styled blonde hair – a district 1 career if ever I saw one. He was wearing sunglasses even though we were inside, which made me dislike him even more. There were a couple other tributes, including a girl from 12, judging by her miners hat, and a girl who was wearing a dress that looked like stone – obviously from 2. She looked like a ditzy blonde, but there was no way a girl could be from 2 and not be an amazing fighter, so I also took a mental note of her, as one to watch. By this time our mentors had arrived, and were shepherding us into our chariots. Our horses had a beautiful chestnut coat, and coal black mane and tail. Barry, was now sweating profusely. I asked him if he was ok, but he just snorted.

In no time at all, the first four chariots were gone, and it was our turn. As soon as we were out of the doors, a wall of screaming and cheering hit me. It took me a moment to realise they were cheering for me. I stayed expressionless, and stared ahead, but this seemed to make them even more crazy. Barry, on the other hand, was waving and smiling, so maybe that was what made them go crazy. Before I knew it, we had pulled up outside the President's Mansion, and he made a speech. I didn't really pay attention to it, I'd heard it many times already. Soon the horses jerked into action again, and we were taken back to the stables. Aliana and Jonas were there to meet us. "You guys were great!" Exclaimed Aliana. Jonas didn't look quite so impressed, but congratulated us nonetheless, with a gruff "Well done, kids." Then we went back to our floor, and had a delicious dinner of roast chicken and vegetables, of course it was the Capitol, so there were a few crazy variations, but it was good. After that we went to our rooms. I pulled on some pyjamas and flopped on to the bed. As soon as my head touched the pillow I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review! Sorry it's so short, it seems so much longer in Word!**


	5. Training and the Game-Maker Sessions

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the Hunger Games!**

**Training**

Once again, I was woken up by Aliana, but this time it was much earlier. "Training's at 10, yeah?" I replied by way of nodding my head sleepily, and then she left me alone. I grabbed my glasses, then I reluctantly climbed out of the bed, pulled on a fluffy, white dressing gown, and started the search for my training outfit. I eventually settled on a loose t-shirt, and some three-quarter length leggings, that both allowed me to move freely. I went down to breakfast, where I ate a delicious mix of banana, and a strange yellow fruit Glissa called a 'banana'. Barry looked desperately tired, and really nervous. This time, he didn't revert back to arrogant Barry, so maybe he'd turn out all right. I had a second helping of porridge and banana, and after that it was time for our first training session. Glissa walked us to the lift, and from then we were on our own. I tried to make conversation with Barry, but he only replied in terse monosyllables.

We reached the training room, in the basement, quickly, and luckily we were neither the first or last there. The Head Trainer gave us some sort of pep talk. I didn't listen to much of it because this was the first time I'd seen all of my rivals together. One person that caught my eye was a black girl, who was standing next to the boy from district 1 that I saw in the stables. This threw me slightly, as she didn't look like she was from district 1, she looked more like she was from district 11, but the district 11 pair were on the other side of the room, sickly looking blonde girl, and a forgettable olive skinned boy. Overall, apart from the proper careers, they all looked fairly beatable. Maybe I did have a chance of winning after all. As soon as the Head Trainer had finished, I headed straight to the edible plants skills, and then I meant to work on my general outdoor survival skills, with maybe a bit of weapons practice, so I wasn't entirely defenceless. Interestingly, the black girl from district 1 dithered about a bit, before going to the knife throwing station. I stopped what I was doing to watch how she did. She was amazingly mediocre. She at least hit the target, but she didn't get anything near a bulls eye. I returned to my plant sorting, and after a few minutes, Barry came over and moved a plant with blue berries from the 'harmless' side, to the 'poisonous' side. "That stuff's deadly. If you ate that, you'd be dead before you realised your mistake." He said, suddenly blushing, as if he didn't want to be here. "Well, uh, thanks, I guess." I replied, smiling uncertainly. I quickly finished on that station, and moved to have a go at fire starting. I mastered that fairly quickly, then decided to have a go with the spears. It was quite a popular station, so I had to wait for a while before it was my turn. The people in front of me were obviously careers, hitting the target right in the centre every time. I refused to be intimidated, but by the time it was my turn, I was a bit nervous. On my first throw, I missed the target completely, and I could hear the laughter of the careers behind me. I kept trying though, and after a quite a few tries I was at least hitting the target, even if I wasn't getting bulls-eyes. It would do for now.

I did pretty much the same over the next few days, working on survival skills, and then having a go with some weapons. I also tried to find out as much about my fellow tributes strengths and weaknesses as I could. For example, by now, I knew that the district 1 girl wasn't very good with weapons, but was very smart. The girl from 10 was pretty good in a fight, but was very impulsive, and didn't think before she acted. There was a tough looking girl from district 5, who was amazing at building fires, but appalling at making traps and snares. I stored all of this information away in head – it would be useful in the arena. After those few days of training, I was proficient in almost all of the survival skills, and pretty dangerous with a spear.

**The Private Sessions**

After our three days of training, it was time for our private sessions with the game-makers. I was planning on showing them my skill at making electrical traps, as I'd seen spools of wire on a rack in a corner of the training room. I was talking to Barry at breakfast and he said he'd show them his climbing skills, and maybe his knife throwing. It was weird – all of a sudden Barry was a lot more humble when he was alone with me, Aliana and Glissa. Interestingly, he still kept up his arrogant act whenever Jonas was around, which frustrated Jonas, as Aliana had told him how much Barry had changed when he wasn't around.

Glissa took us down to a communal dining room, and told us this is where we'd wait until it was our turn with the game-makers. The tables were laden with food. Barry and I were the last to arrive, and I saw that the careers were sitting together, and it seemed that a few other small alliances had formed too. Both from 6 had teamed up with the girl from 3, and the boy from 3 was trying to get in with the careers, as was the girl from 9. Both from 10 and 11 were sitting together, and everyone else had tables to themselves, obviously wanting to avoid the complications that alliances brought. I tried to sit by myself, but Barry followed me. I let him sit with me, mainly because I felt sorry for him – he was only 13. We ate in silence, and soon a Capitol attendant started calling us in to our private sessions. First, of course, was the district 1 girl. She got up and walked into the training room confidently, with the careers cheering her on. After about 15 minutes, the Capitol attendant called the district 1 boy. He sauntered off, smirking. Every fifteen minutes or so, the attendant returned and called the next person. It seemed like no time at all before the attendant called for me.

I walked in nervously, and glanced at the game-makers. Only a few were watching me, but I carried on regardless. I headed over to the wire rack, and grabbed a spool of wire. There was a special area set up for making electrical traps that had electricity sources. I laid out some wire and set to work. I had to work quickly, as I only had 15 minutes. I was aiming for a simple, but effective trap, that I'd be able to use in the arena, providing I could find a power source. I pulled the wire taut, and tied it to the metal conductor. Then, I borrowed a dummy from a weapons station, and a long stick from the fire-starting station. I stood the dummy right in front of wire, and then gingerly pushed it forward with the stick. As soon as the dummy touched the wire, there was a sizzle, and it fell to the ground, smoking. The sizzle seemed to grab the game-makers attention, and suddenly I found I had their full intention. Thinking on my feet, I grabbed another dummy, and cranked up the power level. I repeated what I did before, except this time when the dummy hit the floor it was charcoal. The man I assumed was Head Game-Maker, said "Thank you… Lyra. You can go now." I did as he said, and left.

I headed back to our floor, and to my room. There, I had a shower and got changed, just for something to do. Then I went into the sitting room, where Aliana, Jonas, and Glissa were waiting. Barry came in straight after me. Aliana asked me what I showed the game-makers, and I told her what I did, and she looked impressed. Jonas, who was still trying to get Barry to trust him, asked Barry the same question. "I didn't do anything. I didn't want to" said Barry, shrugging. Jonas and Glissa looked dumbstruck, and Aliana was shaking her head. After a few moments of silence, Glissa regained her composure and said "Well, if you want to find out your scores, we'd better turn on the TV". An Avox came in and turned it on. Caesar Flickerman greeted us with a winning smile. "Right then, now it's time to find out this years tributes' scores!" We were all watching and listening intently. The careers, and the other two that were sitting at their table all got eights, nines, and tens. I got a seven, which I was quite pleased with. Barry got a zero, which didn't surprise any of us. All the others got fives to eights.

Now the only thing between us and the Games were our interviews.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	6. Sorry everyone

**A/N:**Sorry everyone, but I sort of have Hunger Games writers block. I just can't get into the feel of the story anymore. However, I probably will return to this story as soon as my block is gone. Consider it a several months long holiday!


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